How to Optimise Remote Invoice Management?

The Covid-19 pandemic brought “the new normal” along with it. People now don’t go out unnecessarily, businesses are working remotely, schools and colleges are taking online classes, and whatnot. Businesses may not be the same as “pre-coronavirus” times, but we all need to find an alternative to strive in this competitive market. One of the biggest concerns that bugs business owners about remote work is whether the employees are working to their full capacity. The concern becomes even graver, especially, if your invoice management team is still relying on Excel sheets for invoicing processes. As a saying goes, “Old Ways Won’t Open New Doors.” so, if you are still using papers and excels sheets for invoice processing then you better start rethinking. Relying on spreadsheets for invoice processing can bog it down by manifolds. Hence, you need to game up to better options like online invoice management software.

In this article, we will be discussing how manual invoice processing mucks up the business and unveils ways to ace invoice processing using an intelligent invoice processing software like DocAcquire.

Primary challenges encountered during Manual Invoice Management

The Accounts Payable department has been juggling with paper for the last 30 years. Employees spend most of their time distributing, copying, searching, and filtering data from paper invoices. Some of the major problems faced during manual invoice processing are:

1. Increased Error Rates

Only 10% of businesses send out invoices in paperless form, the rest 90% is depending upon the tedious process of data scanning and copying in spreadsheets. This copying and tallying of data introduce numerous manual errors such as typos, incorrect information, and faulty data.

 2. Data Loss

Manual invoice processing is a slow and time-consuming process. This lag in catering to the incoming invoices may increase the chance of losing them. A slight delay in the process can make you fall far away and eventually you will lose the track of information. 

3. Requires Thorough Reviewing

Manual invoice processing involves a lot of effort and time. Leave out the laborious task of manually keying the data, a lot of hard work is involved in cross-reference and validating the information. The process becomes more dreaded if the PO number or invoice number is incorrect or unavailable. Then, the invoice is sent to another section of the AP department for locating the missing data. Hence, this already extensive process becomes even more lengthy.

4. Absence Of Clarity

During manual invoice processing, the status of the invoice is ambiguous. The employee keeps on wandering “whether the invoice has been received”, “has it been verified?”, or “is the data correct?”. This lack of transparency at various levels of manual invoice processing wastes the time of the client as well as the supplier. 

5. Insufficient Storage

If you are well-organized then managing paper invoices may not be that big a deal for you. However, for most people collecting and sorting invoices can be a huge burden. Paper invoices not only consume a lot of space in your office but are also easily perishable. Hence, sticking to traditional invoices in this digitized era is not sensible. 

What’s the Solution?

First things first, if you are intending to optimize the invoicing process of your company then start with ditching paper. A slow accounts payable process is nothing less than a nightmare for a growing business. Delayed invoices, missed deadlines, late payments can affect the relationship with suppliers as well as clients. Instead of jeopardizing your business, it is better to switch to an online software management software like DocAcquire. Wondering what’s online invoice management software? Then keep reading!

Online Invoice Management Software

Manual invoice processing is far from efficient. Therefore, you need to put a proper invoice management process in place. Online Invoice Management software is useful in the automation of invoice processing tasks. It can help in streamlining the invoice handling process right from receiving the invoice, approval, data extraction, and verification. Once the data is processed it can be exported into another application for further use. The online invoice management software eliminates the use of paper and manual data entry processes. If you are looking for a top-notch solution for your bottled accounts payable process, then Cognitive Invoice is your best bet. This software can ace your invoice management process and promote the growth of the business.

How to grow your Remote Business with Cognitive Invoice?

If you use Cognitive Invoice for invoice management then you won’t need to worry whether your accounts payable department is in-house or working remotely. Some of the boons of using online management software are:

1. Real-time Updates

One of the most important factors to keep the accounts payable department going is to maintain constant communication. However, it may get compromised during remote work. But if you collaborate with  Cognitive Invoice for managing your invoice, then you will be able to make sure the entire team is on the same page.

2. Seamless Invoice Management

With Cognitive Invoice by your side, you can automate the invoice data capture regardless of the format, structure, or complexity of the invoice. It will enable you to track the data, identify weak areas, and help in strategizing your business in the long run. When your team is free from the headache of manual keying, verifying, and sorting of data their productivity will increase.

3. Save Resources

Time and money are the biggest driving forces for a company. And associating with the Cognitive invoice for online invoice management, you can save your time as well as money. Do you know it takes around 25 days for a mid-sized company to process a single invoice? On the other hand, DocAcquire can reduce the processing time by 3-5 days. So, you can imagine how manual invoice management is taking a toll on your business.

4. Highly Reliable Invoice Management

No matter how keenly manual invoice processing is done, there’s always a scope of human error in the process. And as the owner of a responsible business, it is highly important to slash down these errors. If you choose the DocAcquire for automating your accounts payable, then the chances of error become almost negligible. We use machine learning, automation, artificial intelligence, and smart OCRs like AWS Textract and Google Vision for extracting data. Hence, providing a reliable solution for your sensitive information.

Hopefully, you must have realized how important is it to automate your invoice management process. We are in the middle of a global pandemic, no one knows when things will get back to the way they were. So, instead of waiting for a miracle, it is better to act smart and switch to online invoice management software. After all, we live in a digital age, because if not now, then when?

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